HRwisdom

A New Problem For Employers During The Economic Downturn (and your in-house solution)

A new report produced by the Australian recruitment web site CareerOne.com.au has uncovered a troubling new development for employers:

The report revealed that even in this troubled global economy, 56 per cent of employees are looking for a salary increase this year. Two thirds of the report's survey respondents said they needed a pay rise of at least 5 per cent to keep up with expenditure while 40 per cent said they are prepared to quit work if the boss gives them nothing.

In this article, HRwisdom turns to one of its expert contributors, Juliette Robertson, to give you practical information and ideas to help implement a simple, cost effective and extremely powerful solution to this new staff management problem.

If you have read any of the HRwisdom employee retention material from another one of our expert contributors, Les McKeown, you will know just how powerful (and cost effective) it can be to have internal employee coaching and mentoring in place for your staff - it is so much better than throwing money at employees or sending them off to ad hoc training courses.

Why are internal employee coaching programs just so powerful?

For Employees . . .

Employees who are being well coached and mentored tend to stay longer with the business for one or more of the following reasons:

  • They have a stronger sense of personal and career development.
  • Their assessment of the business as an employer will be higher because it has the mentoring program in place.
  • The motivational and role-modelling aspects of the mentoring relationship maintain a positive attitude in the coached employees.
  • They have a forum for discussing and resolving frustrations that might otherwise accumulate to cause them to leave the business.
  • They may view the mentoring program as a fast track to promotion.
  • They may fear losing a good mentoring relationship, which may not be available elsewhere.

Benefits For The Coaches/Mentors Too . . .

If you appoint top performers as mentors, they may stay longer with the company for one or more of the following reasons:

  • They have a stronger sense of personal and career development.
  • They experience a greater sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.
  • Their sense of responsibility is heightened.
  • They feel a desire to complete what they’ve begun and to remain with strong mentoring relationships that have formed.
  • They feel a greater sense of “bonding” with the business as the mentors see their efforts make a positive effect in the lives and careers of other employees.
  • The mentors feel a sense of responsibility and commitment to their protégés.

Even Better Though . . .

Those of your employees who are not directly involved in being mentored will often still be positively impacted, for any of the following reasons:

  • Employees in general will perceive the mentoring program as an indication of the company's commitment to its employees.
  • The positive impact on the attitudes and personal and career development of those involved in the program leads to improved employee morale and positive attitude about the business.
  • The managers of the coaches and coached employees will see an improvement in the personal and career development of both parties.
  • Employees who are not part of the program but will be considered as mentors or coached employees in the future may see that opportunity as a further reason to stay with the company.

Caution: Planning & Communication Required

Note that the above benefits will only accrue if you plan properly and then “sell” the employee coaching program positively to your employees (not just those being mentored) and if the program is seen as successful.

On the other hand, if your employees see the mentoring program as an elitist activity, available for only the few, or if the program is generally considered to be weak or unsuccessful, then the impact on morale may well be negative.

 

Your Next Free HRwisdom Resource

We have arranged for Juliette Robertson (an expert HRwisdom contributor in the area of coaching and mentoring) to run a special free class each month to help you plan and set up your own internal staff coaching and mentoring program.

During the session (which you can attend from anywhere in the world) you will learn:

  • The top four most powerful questions to ask when coaching employees.
  • The biggest mistakes managers make when coaching in the workplace.
  • Key principles every coach should abide by.
  • A step-by-step approach to begin effective coaching immediately.

After the training you will be given a seven step approach plus a list of practical coaching questions to use immediately after the training session.

You will also record what you learn and keep the notes with a downloadable Coaching Action Guide.

Please note that we only have a limited number of free places available for this training session and they are being allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

To reserve your place, click on the following link and scroll straight down to the Priority Reservation Form.

Click here: Coaching Employees